My left foot.

My left foot. I am now in my 2nd day of recuperation after having my left foot cut open on Tues, 15 May 2007. The op was to remove a small bit of bone below my left big toe that was causing pain in a form of a bunion (medical term: hallux valgus). I think it should be healing fine altho i am dependent on painkillers for a while. afterall, i had a small section of bone removed and 2 metal screws inserted.

My surgery went well but i cannot say the same for my entire 1 night stay at our Singapore General Hospital. Service was horrendous and communication was even worse. It all started to go downhill when i did NOT receive the call regarding my reporting time the day before my admission. and the default time given a week ago during the pre-op assessment was....7am. so i dutifully, went to check myself in at 7am on that stormy tuesday morning (took a bus too). Arrived at the counter to check in and asked the lady, what time exactly is my surgery, she checked and said, 3pm! i then said: why am i here so early then? what am i suppose to do from now till then? she said: i am suppose to see the docs and the physiotherapist before op, but i need not be there till 12 noon!

My face was almost as black, or blacker than the skies outside, if i could see the storm. I waited for abt half an hour to see the nurse who was suppose to call me day before for an explaination, why she did not ring my mobile. and when i finally saw her, she went on abt how she only had my parents house number and maid kept answering. I said, all my previous apptmts to SGH, i was asked to confirm my mobile number numerous times and that I would like to be contacted on it. she then feebly showed me her calling sheet and said: see only this house number, the other dept did not key in other numbers under yr data, whilst other patients had 2 contact numbers. i was so angry, i went home to sleep for a couple of hours before checking in again at 12nn.

That is not the end of the story. after i checked in, i was made to wait for a bed, till....3pm. what time was my surgery? 3pm. They finally got my into a 6 bedder at 3pm, then left me there to wait again. finally some old malay lady came to fetch me, and before that, i was told to pass any valuables to nurse to safekeep, but no one came to collect from me. so old lady and i were made to wait in the corridor, with me in the surgery gown with no underwear, sitting on wheel chair holding onto my phone, watch and wallet. after a while, she too left me to look for this and that and i was left in the corridor with a marked left foot for a supposed 3pm op. by now, it was like 3.20pm. I had to go to the nurse counter to tell them i was LATE for my surgery. They had the cheek to ask what time it was scheduled for! Appalling!

got to op theatre, had the op, was waking up from GA, when there were like auntie-market voices around the room outside the OT, where pple were recovering from GA frm their op. so shrill, no consideration for patients whatsoever. And there I was so thirsty, having starved for a full day, no water and puking my gastric juices out. the waiting game then began, slowly, the lights were turned out in the whole op theatre section, i could hear calls being made, nurses complaining that no one from Ward 76 seems to be coming for this patient (i.e. ME). and i was the last one there with like 2 nurses leaning on my bed, and in the end, i think it was not even a nurse who wheeled me back but one of those helpers.

In my groggy state, i saw my family waiting at the lounge of the 6th floor. and first thing i did, was mumble my complaints. The time now was 7.20pm, my op was suppose to take no more than 1.5 hours.

this ridiculousness carried on through-out the night as they woke me for random checks, turned on really bright lights in the bed opp mine, and spoke really loudly to the patient next to me. I thought there was no end to this night as the sky was always dark when i got woken up for some reason. The next morn, was just as bad.

Doc came to see me and said could be discharged. Said to see Physio again and also change dressing and get special shoe, so i waited and waited and waited and had to keep asking nurses, when was each step going to take place, and their reaction would be, Oh u mean you are waiting to......XXXX, or some random helper will come to my bed with a wheelchair and say exercise, and i will just stare at them and say I am waiting to see doc/physio/gg to bathe, then they will look confused, look at their paper, then leave w the wheelchair.

Goodness, cut long story short. SGH SUCKS.

i am just glad to be home resting now, we'll see what happens during follow-up next Wed.